60,000 entrepreneurs have still not paid off any of the corona debt to the Tax Authorities. State Secretary Marnix van Rij (Taxation) writes this to the House of Representatives. The total debt of all entrepreneurs, including those who have partially repaid their debt, amounted to 16.5 billion euros at the end of April.
The 60,334 entrepreneurs who have not yet repaid anything at all (almost a quarter of all entrepreneurs) together have an outstanding debt of more than 2.3 billion euros. Almost 25,000 of them have a debt of less than 5,000 euros. According to Van Rij, it mainly concerns small companies.
“It is not clear whether these are entrepreneurs who cannot or entrepreneurs who do not want to pay,” the state secretary writes. Despite ‘repeated attempts by the Tax and Customs Administration to get them to take action’, they have not contacted the Tax and Customs Administration or agencies that can provide assistance.
The tax debt was built up during the corona crisis: entrepreneurs could easily obtain a tax deferral from the government, because many companies had to close partially or completely due to the corona measures. Since October 1 last year, they have started paying off that debt, in sixty monthly installments.
Faster than expected
The outstanding debt of all entrepreneurs fell ‘faster than expected’ by more than 3 billion euros between October last year and the end of April, writes Van Rij. In October, the joint debt amounted to 19.6 billion euros. “There is a significant group of entrepreneurs who want to pay off the debt as quickly as possible, faster than the 5-year term.”
96,000 entrepreneurs (36 percent of all entrepreneurs who had a corona debt) are in payment arrears of one or more installments. This involves a total of more than 5.6 billion euros. 10 percent of entrepreneurs have paid off their debt in full.
Relatively small amounts
Payment arrears are most common among small businesses, although the amounts involved are relatively small, writes Van Rij. Most large companies are meeting their payment deadlines or have paid off their debt in full.
From 13 June, the Tax and Customs Administration will start withdrawing corona payment arrangements from defaulters. “The starting point is that the corona debt must be paid in full.” There can be no question of a waiver. Viable businesses may qualify for debt restructuring.
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